5 Tips To Improve Your Prayer Life

April 19, 2018

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As choir practice came to a close, I knew the awkward moment wasn’t too far away.

Would it be me this time around?

I cringed at the thought, wishing if only I were invisible for that very moment.

What then seemed like an eternity was merely just a few seconds.

But, it finally came, someone was asked to pray.

Prayer is one area of my spiritual life, that I struggle with the most. That feeling of frustration is all too familiar. It seems so easy for others that can pray for hours yet I get easily distracted and at a loss for words. Can you relate? It’s this frustration that got me digging into the concept of prayer and turning to the bible for answers. Today I will be sharing with you 5 Tips I uncovered that can help you stop being frustrated with your prayer life.

5 Tips To Improve Your Prayer Life

Read The Bible’s Guidelines on Prayer

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Matthew 6:5,6 NKJV

When I read the above verses, I begun to realize that I had the concept of prayer all wrong. Jesus urges us that when we pray, we shouldn’t aim to be the center of attraction but rather pray to our God in secret and he will reward us openly. For years, here I was comparing myself to those who could pray lengthy prayers, those who had the flowery words and seemed to know just the right things to say. But I was missing the most important reason for it all, my Why.

We pray to develop a relationship with God, not to try to impress those around us. Prayer brings us up to God. It is our direct communication line with our creator. My main purpose for praying was because I was told I needed to pray. It was more what I could get out of the relationship, than an earnest desire to commune with God. Growing up in a christian home, prayer was a big part of my life. But it was more of a routine, just something I did. When we pray we should pray purposefully and not just for what we can receive like kids at Christmas, trying to get gifts from Santa. I particularly like the article 7 things we should be praying for according to the bible. It is a wonderful reminder that we should be praying for our enemies, the ministry, safety, that we don’t fall into temptation, for the sick and to be worthy of the high calling.

Understand That Prayer Comparison Is A Hindrance

“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Matthew 6:7 NKJV

Stop believing the devil’s lies that you can’t pray. A lie that only serves to make you shy away from developing a strong prayer life. A full disclaimer, everybody can pray even if you don’t believe that you can pray. Prayer is simply talking to God just as you would any other friend. A friend that listens and will never divulge your darkest secrets. Its verse seven of Matthew 6 that really spoke to me. I just had to re-read it again, the verse that speaks to vain repetitions and using many words. We don’t need to fit into a perfect prayer mold, i.e. what we view as the way we must pray as depicted by others. Here I was trying to do the very thing that Jesus cautions against and for what? Earthly recognition! What I love is that Jesus has got our backs, he didn’t just tell us what not to do but gave us a guide showing us how to pray.

From a young age, we are taught the “The Lord’s Prayer” and it’s a great model on which we can frame our prayers. The Prayer starts with recognizing who we are praying to and praising God for who he is. We are then reminded that we should pray according to God’s will and not our own. It further teaches us to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others, confessing whatever sins we may have in our lives and praying for strength from temptations that may come our way. He then ends the prayer giving God all the praises.

Identify Your Favorite Prayer Strategy

As with any skill you get better with practice and it is the same with prayer. You will pray more powerful prayers with time and as your relationship with God matures and deepens. For those that get easily distracted, praying aloud does actually help. If you are still not too sure where to start, here are a few strategies you can try or should you choose you can incorporate them all.

Use An Acronym

Praise – Give God praises for all that he is and all that he has done for you.

Memorize Bible Promises

There are such beautiful promises in the Bible. Go through the bible and find prayers on topics such as healing and thanksgiving, then during times when you are not too sure what to pray, pray those bible promises over your life. Don’t be afraid to personalize scripture and claim God’s promises. As you study the Bible, make note of passages that you enjoy and commit them to memory. Then once fitting incorporate them into your daily prayer routine. If you have the You Version Bible App, it has a search functionality that you can use to find verses in the Bible on a particular topic.

Get a Prayer Journal

For some it may be a weird concept to write out your prayers. However, some people express themselves best through writing as it gives them the opportunity to focus and be in tune with their thoughts. A prayer journal also allows you to keep track of your prayer requests. Think about it, how many times have you told a friend that you would pray for them and totally forgot? I know I am guilty. It also serves as an opportunity to look back to see how God has worked in your life through answered prayers. Here are 31 prayer prompts to get you started.

Create A Daily Prayer Routine

Prayer should be something you look forward to everyday not something that you shy away from. A routine is helpful as it keeps you organized and not guessing what comes next. Should you choose you can create a prayer corner dedicated to your personal time with God.

My routine usually starts off with prayer where I welcome God’s presence into my worship session. I then incorporate a few praise and worship songs followed by either a devotional or a chapter from the bible. This is where a journal comes in handy where you can reflect on the passage or devotional you just read. I then close off with prayer in response to my readings as well as use it as a time to pray for my family and friends and whatever personal struggles I may be experiencing. While this works for me, it may not work with your current season. Find a method that works for you and stick to it. You can also do notification prayers. Notification prayers can help you maintain a prayerful attitude throughout the day. Whenever your phone sends off a notification, say a prayer before reading the notification, it is as simple as that.

Pray & Ask God for Help

God wants nothing more than to have a relationship with you. In fact, in Exodus 20:5, God lets us know that he is a jealous God. If you take nothing else from this guide, take this one advice. Tell God your struggles with prayer and ask him for help. Get on your knees and take your struggles to the master himself, he will recognize your earnest desire and help you through the process.

I love listening to quire music. Have you been participating in the choir for a long time? I can relate to what you say about struggling in our prayer life. Today it’s better after I read a book by pastor who explained prayer beginning with Martin Luther and his thoughts on prayer. But that’s another discussion.

I like your five tips here, especially the first about moving focus from us to God. What I also like about your blog posts is the suggestion about beginning, and then improving along the way, using the strategy you suggest.

The Psalms are some of my favourite texts in the Bible because of their language, filled with power and beauty. Thank you for what you’re doing in the Christian online community. I believe many readers can improve their prayer-life by following your tips here.

I HATE praying I’m groups. I love my conversations with God One on one, but I find that it’s hard for me to get the same sincerity when it’s in a group. I try not to be too much but to be myself at the same time. Thanks for really unpacking this thing!

Hello Shanique
Really good solid advice. Thank you.
I try to say as little as possible so I listen more than talk.
That secret place in your opening scripture has been a cave of learning for me so I relate to this post very much.
Love the acronym, simple but effective.

It’s so true that God would help us if we take our struggles with praying to Him. Thanks for sharing these. It also helps when we remember that prayer is talking to our Father. Thanks for sharing these tips, Shanique. Blessings to you.

Great tips & truths! I’ve never heard the PRAY acronym before..
I’ve heard ACTS
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
and even sometimes Listen
but not “Yield” – and yet that’s what Jesus did in his prayers.

I love the simplicity of praying – just talking to God. But I also love that there is so much power in prayer and how much we can learn about it and grow in our prayer life when we take it deeper. Great post, Shanique.

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About Me

Hey Fam!

I am Shanique, the sassy editor behind Rock Solid Faith.
My goal is to help wives find balance and manage the overwhelm in their lives while pursuing their passion for blogging. First time reader? Head on over to my start here page to learn more about me and the mission of my blog!